World War I Today

Austro-Hungarian Army

Austro-Hungarian soldiers marching through a city, their officers bawling orders. Women and a child watch and talk, possibly shouting to be heard over the marching feet. An original watercolor on blue paper, signed W. Rittermann or Pittermann, December 26, 1915.

Six armies: The Austro-Hungarian First, Third, and Fourth Armies were positioned in Galicia in the northeast facing Polish Russia to the north and Russia to the east with the fortress cities of Lemberg and Przemyśl behind them. Further behind them were the Carpathian Mountains. The Fifth and Sixth Armies were stationed in Bosnia-Herzegovina facing Serbia's northwestern border.

The Second Army could be positioned for action against Serbia (Plan A - WEST POINT MAPS SAY Plan B), in which it moved into Serbia from its position across the border from Serbia's capital of Belgrade, or Russia (Plan R), in which it moved to the right wing of the First, Fourth, and Third Armies in Galicia.

On the eve of the war, Austria-Hungary had 1,100,000 men in Galicia, 200,000 on the Serbian border, and 1,000,000 reserves. (Suicide/Clark)

In the first year of war, the Army lost 57,000 officers and 2.5 million men killed or wounded, 928,000 of them seriously wounded. More than 730,000 were prisoners of war or missing. One in eight officers had died and one in ten men.

In his 1915 autumn offensive Conrad lost 230,000 men, 100,000 of them prisoners of war. 33% of officers in the Fourth Army were taken prisoner. (5% of German officers were taken prisoner on the front.) Czech and Ruthenian units went over to the Russians.